One of the trademarks of any city is its skyscrapers, the towering buildings that dwarf the homes below and often make for some incredible images. Here in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania however, the city’s trademark looks vastly different.
Travelling Sudan with a Nikon F3
Sudan is a misunderstood country that had caught my attention after reading articles online about people who had traveled there. I then met a friend who had been there the year before during the overthrowing of the dictator and he told me stories of the amazing hospitality.
Closer to the Sea Exhibition: Nikonos Underwater Camera
It is the end of winter in The Northern Hemisphere, and while our boards are waxed and our wetsuits are hanging by the front door, we are stuck at home frantically looking at the forecast or obsessively watching Pointbreak and The Endless Summer. To bring you closer to the sea, we put together a virtual exhibition presenting to you our selection of nine surf photographers, each with their own unique style and story.
My Polaroid Addiction: Polaroid Land 195 + Fuji FP100c
The Polaroid Land 195 camera is an incredible conversation starter. Pulling it out of the bag and extending the bellows always gets an interesting reaction. I will often have the model pull the film from the backing and the reaction is usually one of awe! The feeling of actually holding a Polaroid photograph in your hand versus looking at an image on the back of some digital screen is way more natural.
Foggy Frankfurt: Minolta Cle + Portra 400
I usually use a Minolta Cle with a Voigtländer Nokton 40mm/f1.4. My favorite film to use is definitely Portra 400, the natural colors perfectly fit my style and the weather in Germany is not always the best so the 400 iso helps a lot as well.
Yosemite Tintype: New Haven Compact View + 8x10 Tintype
All images are 8x10 inch direct positive tintypes in Yosemite National Park. All images are made with wet plate collodion in full accordance with the 19th-century practice, with the exception of modern black aluminum backing. The camera used was the mid-1870s American Optical Co., division of Scovill Manufacturing Company shot with Dallmeyer Triple Achromat 8in, 14in James Queen single achromat, and 21in Voigtlander Euryscope.
US Air Force: Canon AE-1 + Portra 400
Having the opportunity to pay homage to the 1980’s F-15E Strike Eagle by capturing its spirit with the Canon AE-1, a camera almost as “young” as it, contrasts most capabilities a typical DLSR user has. Portra 400 gives you only 36 attempts to get it right, which is opposite to the endless chances a DSLR has to create an image.
Inside North Korea: Pentax KM + Ultra Max 400
When I was heading to North Korea I decided to pack my digital camera as well as my favorite old Pentax km with a 50mm 1.7 and 5 rolls of film. Two Kodak UltraMax 400, two Kodak Tri-x 400, and 1 Fomapan 400. I wasn’t actually sure if I would be allowed into the country with the film because there is no way for them to look at the photos! Luckily they just looked at me like I was crazy for still shooting film and mocked me for a second and that was the end of it.
Costco Covid-19: Leica Z2x + Superia X-TRA 400
This series highlights the overconsumption occurring in the world at the moment, the frightening selfish behavior and lack of unity during the Covid-19 pandemic. This series is shot on the Leica Z2x 35-70mm point and shoot with one roll of FUJIFILM Superia X-TRA 400. A point and shoot for this series allowed me to showcase my images raw and truthful. With a slight blur from motion in some shots, it allowed me to showcase the rush of the subjects and panic in this series.
Tower Bridge Amalgam: Leica M6 + Ilford HP5
The Tower Bridge amalgam is the most successful of a series of photos I have shot recently that attempt to disconcert the viewer and to question uninterrogated convictions about reality. Our old certainties are being eroded in the face of climate change, destructive populisms with associated reality-averse propaganda, and now Gaia’s revenge, Covid19.
Morning Home: Pentax Z-10 + Kodak Color Plus 200
These images were shot in the morning at my home. I used to be a model and I have never thought that taking pictures would fascinate me so much. I love underexposed photos and warm lighting because of the natural look.
Shower Thoughts: Mamiya 7II + Kodak Portra 800
Taken on a rainy evening in the middle of Poland. Every year we go to Podlasie (North of Poland) to our favorite summer house. It’s usually not that long of a trip, only a few hours, but the weather on this day was ominous with poor visibility. We had no choice but to stop at a roadside hostel where this photo was taken. We soon noticed this beautiful shower inside the cabin which had this dreamy tempered glass and light on the bottom. After seeing this image, we were very glad we made the detour.
US Cross Country Roadtrip: Canon EOS 300 + Kodak Gold 200
Driving across the United States is a life-changing experience, especially for us Europeans. There’s no grand story to these photographs. They were not fueled by a specific plan, but rather simple curiosity and an inclination towards specific types of objects and locations. The images are therefore not supposed to deliver an explicit message; they just happen to have been all captured during one awesome vacation.
A Guide to Lomography Color Film
I've since shot some different types of Lomography 120 format color film and each has distinctive characteristics and bring their own interpretation of a scene. From dramatic changes in color to films I can shoot without having to use a tripod, in one way or another each Lomography film type broadens my creative choices.
Hasselblad Ballet: Hasselblad 500C/M + Ilford HP5+
With the help of my friends - and 100+ ballerinas around the world, I am currently working on self-publishing a fine-art coffee table book of ballerinas photographed on film. Dance is a universal subject, as is photography. Having a deep love for the darkroom, and ballet photography, I have combined those two subjects to create a meaningful body of work in over 15 countries, with a goal of 25 countries in total. Though at times it may not be as technically perfect as a digital photograph, a darkroom image speaks elegantly in a world saturated with sterile images.
Hong Kong Inception: LOMO LC-A + Lomography LADY GREY 400
After shooting the film in Taiwan, I rewound and took the film out of the camera. After a few weeks, I went to Hong Kong and installed the same film in the camera again. Then I only opened the upper half of the lens using the “Splitzer” and shot the entire roll again in Hong Kong. These 2 images were combined on each one frame finally.
Who Wants a Free Roll of 35mm Film? - The Optimist
A couple friends were going around the country distributing free rolls of 35mm film and curating the best submissions into a photographic exhibit showcasing the theme ‘Red, White, and Blue’. We linked up with them one day where their airstream was parked in Venice and shot a mini-doc with them. The most interesting thing about this project is how creative people got with the American theme. Beyond objects that are those colors, the photos dove deeper into the greater themes that represent the United States of America.
How to Develop Color (C-41) Film at Home
Developing color film at home is easy. And if you’ve already developed black and white photos at home you probably have almost everything you need to make the jump to C-41 color film processing. The main difference is that with C-41 film, you have to worry about getting the temperature of your chemicals up to 102°F / 39°C. That’s easily solved by using a regular kitchen sous vide.
The People Who Live Under the Freeway
The more I searched, the more people I found, the more stories that needed to be told. “The People Who Lived Under the Freeway”, is an on-going project. My friends who live under the freeway are the poorest of the poor of the slum. They are forgotten, kind, good-hearted, friendly people. Their stories need to be preserved and I am hopeful the photographs will help them.